Preparation of ready-to-eat peanut butter containing cereal

ABSTRACT

A ready-to-eat breakfast cereal impregnated with a nonheatdegraded liquefied peanut butter is produced by preparing a cereal base, drying the base to below 14 percent by weight moisture, permeating the dried base with liquid peanut butter, and further drying the permeated base.

United States Patent Bixby et al. 1 1 Mar. 27, 1973 [54] PREPARATION OFREADY-TO-EAT [56] References Cited PEANUT BUTTER CONTAINING CEREALUNITED STATES PATENTS Inventors: 3,600,193 8/1971 Glabe et al. ..99/83Helmke Elglh both of Primary ExaminerRaymond N. Jones 73 Assignee; TheQuaker 0 3 Company, Attorney-Milton C. Hansen and Donnie Rudd Chicago,Ill. [57] ABSTRACT [22] Filed: Oct. 6, 1970 A ready-to-eat breakfastcereal impregnated with a PP 78,627 nonheat-degraded liquefied peanutbutter is produced by preparing a cereal base, drying the base to below14 percent by weight moisture, permeating the dried [52] US. Cl ..99/83,99/82 51 1111.0. ..A23I 1/10, A231 1/18 '13: peanut the 58 Field ofSearch ..99/82, 83 p 5 Claims, No Drawings PREPARATION OF READY-TO-EATPEANUT BUTTER CONTAINING CEREAL BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field ofthe Invention This invention relates to a ready-to-eat breakfast cerealwhich has a peanut butter flavor.

2. Description of the Prior Art The present invention constitutes thefirst commercially practical peanut butter flavored ready-to-eatbreakfast cereal. The desire to have a peanut butter flavoredready-to-eat breakfast cereal has been long known. The problemsassociated with producing such a cereal have heretofore always beensufficient to make a commercial product impractical. The primary reasonfor this impracticality is that peanut butter has a rather high fatcontent and is therefore subject to rancidity. When peanut butter isadded to a cereal product, it even further enhances the chances ofrancidity. Conventional attempts to produce a peanut butter cereal wouldonly include preparing a cereal mixture which would include some type ofpeanut butter or peanut butter flavoring and then extruding or toastingthe cereal mixture to form a cereal product. If either of theconventional processes for making cereal products was used, the peanutbutter or peanut butter flavoring would very quickly become rancid dueto the exposure to high temperatures. This would occur regardlesswhether or not extrusion or toasting were the chosen methods ofproducing the cereal product. The present process overcomes each of thedeficiencies of the prior art and produces a new'and unique productwhich fulfills the requirements of a long felt need.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of this invention to produce aready-toeat breakfast cereal product which has peanut butter flavor.

It is another object of this invention to provide a ready-to-eatbreakfast cereal product which contains peanut butter and which does notbecome rancid during normal storage.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a process forproducing a peanut butter flavored readyto-eat breakfast cereal.

The objects of this invention are accomplished by a ready-to-eatbreakfast cereal comprising a cereal base impregnated with anonheat-degraded liquefied peanut butter. In its preferred form, thenonheat-degraded liquefied peanut butter comprises a mixture of peanutbutter and edible oil. The preferred mixture of peanut butter and edibleoil comprises from 50 to 100 parts by weight peanut butter with from 1to 50 parts by weight edible oil.

In a still further preferred embodiment of this invention the mixture ofpeanut butter and edible oil also includes an antioxidant.

Although we claim a much broader scope as our invention, the preferredcereal bases for this invention are those produced by the well-knowncereal extruder.

The objects of this invention are further accomplished by a process forpreparing a ready-to-eat breakfast cereal product, said processcomprising the steps:

A. preparing a cereal base;

B. drying the cereal base to below 14 percent by weight moisture;

C. permeating the dried cereal base with liquid peanut butter; and

D. further drying the permeated cereal base to a moisture content offrom about 1 percent to about 5 percent by weight, said drying beingaccomplished without substantially heating the permeated product.

In its preferred embodiment the process of this invention is the processin which the common cereal extruder is used. In such a case the processcomprises the steps:

A. admixing cereal based ingredients with water;

B. applying heat and pressure to the above mixture with an extruder;

C. suddenly releasing the pressure on the mixture to form an expandedcereal base;

D. drying the expanded cereal base to below 14 percent by weightmoisture;

E. permeating the dried cereal base with liquefied peanut butter; and

F. further drying the permeated cereal base to a moisture content offrom about 1 percent to about 5 percent by weight, said drying beingaccomplished without substantially heating the permeated product.

Again, the preferred liquefied peanut butter is a mixture of peanutbutter and an edible oil and may contain an antioxidant.

In a still further preferred embodiment of this invention the expandedcereal base is first coated with a sugar-syrup solution and then driedto a moisture content below 10 percent by weight before application ofthe liquid peanut butter.

The ready-to-eat breakfast cereal of this invention comprises a cerealbase impregnated with a nonheatdegraded liquefied peanut butter. By useherein of the term "cereal base" we intend to mean a cereal productwhich has been processed for a substantial portion of its total cookingand which is ready for either consumption or coating. We intend toinclude in this invention cereal bases which are produced by extruding acereal mixture under high temperatures and pressure which in turn causesthe cereal base to be created in an expanded state. The cereal base isthen conventionally heated and dried in a stream of hot air prior to usein this invention. We also intend to include as a product of thisinvention those cereal products which are of the toasted type, that iswhich use lower temperatures and pressures to form the product and thentoast the product in a toasting oven. Either of these type cereal basesis acceptable for use in this invention. The preferred cereal base foruse in this invention, however, is the cereal base made from theconventional extruding equipment. The particular advantage of this typecereal base is that it is greatly expanded, and therefore, makes iteasier to be impregnated with liquefied peanut butter.

The cereal base is impregnated with a nonheatdegraded liquefied peanutbutter. By use herein of the term peanut butter" we intend to meanpeanut butter as it is well-known to the art. Peanut butter is generallyconsidered to be blanched, dry roasted peanuts, finely divided, withadditives to improve spreadability and smoothness. Liquefication of thepeanut butter can be accomplished in at least two ways. The leastpreferred method is to heat the peanut butter until it becomes liquidand then impregnate the cereal base with the peanut butter. This processis not preferred, however, since heating of the peanut butter increasesthe risk of oxidation or rancidity of the fat in the peanut butter. Itmust be emphasized at this point, however, that at no place in theprocess can the peanut butter be heated until it is degraded. In otherwords, the peanut butter must be nonheat-degraded.

The preferred method of liquefying peanut butter is to mix the peanutbutter thoroughly with an edible oil. When the peanut butter is mixedwith an edible oil, the peanut butter should be present in an amount offrom 50 to 100 parts by weight peanut butter with from I to 50 parts byweight edible oil. The peanut butter and edible oil are mixed togetherthoroughly and this mixture is then used to impregnate the cereal base.

By use herein of the term edible oil" it is intended to mean all of thewell-known edible oils which are used in the food industry and which donot create adverse taste. Among the many oils that may be used arecoconut oil, safflower oil, peanut oil, corn oil and the otherwell-known vegetable oils. The preferred oil for use in this inventionis coconut oil.

If desirable, the edible oil may contain an antioxidant. The particularantioxidant oil which may be used is a matter of preference and wouldinclude the wellknown edible antioxidants that are commonly used with anedible oil. Two such antioxidants are butylated hydroxyanisole andbutylated hydroxy toluene with butylated hydroxyanisole being theantioxidant that we prefer to use.

The first step of the process of this invention comprises preparing acereal base. The cereal base is the conventional cereal product that hasbeen discussed hereinbefore. After the cereal base has been prepared, itmust be dried to below 14 percent by weight moisture. The drying isabsolutely necessary in order to insure that the cereal base can absorbthe liquefied peanut butter as well as to insure that the cereal basedoes not become too soggy and lose its shape. It is preferred that thedrying of the cereal base be to the moisture content of from 4 to 8percent by weight moisture.

After the cereal base has been dried, it is then permeated with liquidpeanut butter. Any standard permeating method may be used foraccomplishing this step. The simplest and preferred method, however, isto tumble the cereal base in a drum and spray the liquefied peanutbutter therein during the tumbling process. Conventional enrobers mayalso be used to accomplish this permeating step. With the cereal basebeing somewhat expanded and rather low in moisture, it readily absorbsthe liquid peanut butter and becomes permeated throughout with theliquefied peanut butter. This creates even texture and flavor throughoutthe entire product.

After the cereal base has been permeated with the peanut butter, it isthen dried to a moisture content of from about 1 percent to aboutpercent by weight with the drying being accomplished withoutsubstantially heating the permeated product. The final drying mustreduce the moisture to the range of from about I percent to about 5percent by weight. If the moisture is reduced below about 1 percent byweight, inner action begins to occur in the product which leads toundesirable taste. If the final moisture is above about 5 percent byweight, then the product has reduced storage stability and begins tobecome commercially undesirable.

The final drying step must be accomplished without substantially heatingthe permeated product. The restriction against substantial heating ofthe permeated product is intended to mean a restriction against anyamount of heating of the permeated product which would cause either aninner action therein or an increase in rancidity or oxidation of anymaterial in the product or a reduction in storage life. We do not intendto mean that the product should not be heated in the final drying stepbut we would require that the heating be kept to a very minimal amountto provide adequate protection of the product. The preferred finaldrying step is one in which the product is dried by passing nonheatedair over the product to evaporate the moisture. In the preferredembodiment no heating of the product occurs during the final dryingstep.

The preferred process of this invention is one in which the cereal baseis produced in a conventional cereal extruder. In such a process cerealbase ingredients are admixed with water and then placed in the extruderwhere they are subjected to heat and pressure. Upon exiting from theextruder the pressure is suddenly released and the cereal base expands.Generally, the temperature in the extruder is held between 212 F. and atemperature at which degradation of the product occurs. The pressure isin turn kept high enough to prevent flashing of the water in theextruder. The cereal base is then dried to a moisture content below l4percent by weight, permeated with liquefied peanut butter, and thendried to a moisture content of from about 1 percent to about 5 percentby weight.

In the most preferred embodiments of this invention the above process isfollowed with the exception that a sugar-syrup solution is used to coatthe expanded cereal base after the first drying step. The moisturecontent of the sugar-syrup coated cereal base is then reduced below 10percent by weight and the process is continued by the permeating of thecereal base with liquid peanut butter. The sugar-syrup solution can beany of the standard sugar-syrup solutions used to coat or frost cerealproducts. The simplest such solution is merely a saturated solution ofsugar in water.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS This invention may be morefully described but is not limited by the following examples.

Example 1 Seven parts by weight corn flour, 1 part by weight oat flour,1 part by weight rice flour, and 1 part by weight sugar were mixedtogether. During mixing sufficient moisture was added to bring themoisture content to about 18 percent by weight. The mixture was thenplaced in an extruder where conventional operation subjected it to atemperature and pressure sufficient to cause the material to expand uponleaving the extruder. The temperature in the extruder varied from about220 F. to about 350 F. and the pressure in the extruder varied from justabove 15 psig to 3,000 psig. Upon exiting from the extruder the materialwas cut and the liquefied peanut butter was added thereto. The

total mixture represented 85 parts by weight cereal base to parts byweight liquid peanut butter. The peanut butter coated cereal base wasfurther tumbled until the peanut butter had fully permeated the cerealbase. At this time, the permeated product was placed on a porousconveyor and air passed therethrough to bring the final moisture contentto about 4 percent by weight. The finished product was then ready to beplaced in a bowl and milk added thereto to provide a deliciousready-to-eat cereal product. It is to be understood, however, that whenusing this extrusion type apparatus to produce the cereal base, themoisture should be from about 15 percent to about percent by weight inthe mixture prior to placing the mixture in the extruder.

Example 2 Example 1 was repeated except the cereal base was first coatedwith a sugar-syrup solution. The sugarsyrup solution was a mixtureprepared by mixing 6 parts by weight sugar with 2 parts by weight water.The sugar solution was applied in an amount equal to the weight of thecereal base. The sugar coated product was then dried to a moisturecontent of about 5 percent by weight and the peanut butter permeatingstep of Example l was then followed to provide a very good peanut butterflavored ready-to-eat breakfast cereal.

Example 2 constitutes the preferred embodiment of this invention.

While the amount of materials used in the above defined examples maychange to provide various flavor combinations, the conditions andamounts to which these changes can be made must be in accordance withthe limitations hereinbefore defined. In particular, the moisturecontent and drying at the various processing steps must be strictlyadhered to.

Having fully defined this new and unique invention, we claim:

1. A process for preparing a ready-to-eat cereal product, said processcomprising the steps:

A. admixing cereal based ingredients with water; B. applying heat andpressure to the above mixture with an extruder; C. suddenly releasingthe pressure on the mixture to form an expanded cereal base; D. dryingthe expanded cereal base to below 14 percent by weight moisture; E.permeating the dried cereal base with a non-heat degraded liquefiedpeanut butter; and F. further drying the permeated cereal base to amoisture content of from about 1 percent to about 5 percent by weight,said drying being accomplished without substantially heating thepermeated product. 2. A process as in claim 1 wherein the liquefiedpeanut butter comprises a mixture of from 50 to parts by weight non-heatdegraded peanut butter with from 1 to 50 parts by weight of an edibleoil.

3. process as in claim 2 wherein the non-heat degraded liquefied peanutbutter contains an antioxidant.

4. A process as in claim 1 wherein the dried expanded cereal base iscoated with a sugar-syrup solution and then dried to a moisture contentbelow 10 percent by weight before application of the non-heat degradedliquefied peanut butter.

5. A process as in claim 4 wherein the liquefied peanut butter comprisesa mixture of from 50 to 100 parts by weight non-heat degraded peanutbutter and from 1 to 50 parts by weight edible oil.

2. A process as in claim 1 wherein the liquefied peanut butter comprisesa mixture of from 50 to 100 parts by weight non-heat degraded peanutbutter with from 1 to 50 parts by weight of an edible oil.
 3. A processas in claim 2 wherein the non-heat degraded liquefied peanut buttercontains an antioxidant.
 4. A process as in claim 1 wherein the driedexpanded cereal base is coated with a sugar-syrup solution and thendried to a moisture content below 10 percent by weight beforeapplication of the non-heat degraded liquefied peanut butter.
 5. Aprocess as in claim 4 wherein the liquefied peanut butter comprises amixture of from 50 to 100 parts by weight non-heat degraded peanutbutter and from 1 to 50 parts by weight edible oil.